Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX) December 28, 2018

Iowa State vs Washington State -3 (o/u 55)

After starting out the season at 1-3, the Iowa State Cyclones caught fire and finished out the season winning 7 of its last 8 games to go to 8-4. Along the way, they beat a very good West Virginia team 30-14. A quick look at the team’s stats makes one wonder how they could achieve so much success with a very limited offense. The fact is the offense finished 198^th in the country with only 358 YPG. A closer look at the stats reveals Iowa State had a strong defense (33^rd in country, 351 YPG allowed), particularly strong against the run where they held opponents to just over 122 YPG rushing. RB David Montgomery was a real workhorse on offense, carrying the ball 231 times for 1,092 yards and 12 TDs.

The Cougars of Washington State (10-2) challenges for the Pac 12 title and a trip to the Rose Bowl. Unfortunately, they fell 28-15 at the hands of in-state rival Washington in the team’s Pac 12 closer to miss out on a chance to play for the conference championship. Throughout the entire season, the Cougars focused almost solely on the passing game where they ended up ranked 3^rd in the country with 379.8 YPG. Pro-prospect Gardner Minshew II completed an amazing 70.6% of his passes for 4,477 for 36 TDS and only 8 interceptions. He also added another 3 TDs rushing. A very deep wide receiver corps consisted of 8 players who caught at least 25 passes for at least 280 yards. The 30^th ranked defense more than held its own, keeping teams at bay, giving up 20 or fewer points on 6 occasions.

Prediction: If Iowa State has any weakness on defense, it’s in the secondary. This is a good Washington State offense and QB Minshew II will try to exploit Iowa State’s weakness. There’s a very good chance he will be successful. It’s a controlled passing game that tends to wear out defenses. Washington State’s defense figures stymie an Iowa State offense that lacks big-play capabilities. This is a potential blowout. Play Washington State -3